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Pricing and availability
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Description
The Epiphone Century Electric Guitar is a stunning tribute to the classic '60s-era hollowbody archtop, offering a perfect blend of vintage aesthetics and modern playability. Designed for musicians who appreciate the charm of retro styling without sacrificing the needs of a contemporary performer, this guitar is a true delight for both the eyes and ears.
At the heart of the Epiphone Century is its P-90 Pro single-coil pickup, renowned for delivering a distinctive growl and a wide tonal range that's been cherished by artists across genres. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, this pickup features historically accurate elements like Elektrisola magnet wire and sand-cast Alnico V magnets, ensuring authentic vintage tones with every strum.
The laminated maple body, paired with a lightweight thinline archtop design, produces a clear and responsive sound that resonates beautifully. Its comfortable rounded C-shaped mahogany neck and 14th fret neck joint enable effortless playability, making it an exceptional choice for long jam sessions or lively performances.
Aesthetically, this guitar is a visual masterpiece. It boasts an elegant rosewood fingerboard adorned with pearloid dot inlays, a sloped dovewing headstock with the historic gold Epiphone logo, and a black-and-white layered pickguard featuring the iconic '60s-era "E" logo. Completing its vintage allure is an aged gloss finish and a replica blue soundhole label visible through the upper F-hole.
Key Features:
- P-90 Pro single-coil pickup for vintage tones
- Laminated maple top, back, and sides
- Lightweight thinline archtop body
- Rounded C-shaped mahogany neck
- Rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays
- Sloped dovewing headstock with gold Epiphone logo
- Black-and-white layered pickguard with '60s-era "E" logo
- Aged gloss finish with vintage hardware
Videos
Andertons Music Co
Guitar Paradiso - Epiphone Inspired By "1966" Century
Reviews
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Epiphone Century Electric Guitar.
Features and functionality
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The Epiphone Century's original models feature a full-depth body (4”) and a 25.5” scale, with the Epiphone Tone Spectrum pickup.
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The Gibson-made E422T Century models from 1958 onward have a thin body and eventually transitioned to P-90 pickups by 1961.
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Stock setup with flatwound strings offers a high-tension, jazzy sound, ideal for traditional jazz tones but may require adjustments for other styles.
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Comparisons
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The neck on a 1963 Century is reported to be similar to a 1964 Epiphone Cortez, slightly smaller compared to a 2021 USA Casino.
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The Epiphone Century models are compared to a Gibson ES-125, with the Century offering a longer scale length.
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The Gibson-built Epiphone Century is likened to a long-scale ES-125T, offering similar tonal characteristics and build.
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Setup and maintenance
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After decades, specific guitars might require a neck reset or could have a maxed-out truss rod, affecting playability.
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Users transitioning from high-tension flatwound to 11-48 nickel wound strings may experience fret buzz, suggesting a need for truss rod adjustment to correct neck back bow.
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Build quality
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Early Gibson-built models utilize leftover Epiphone parts like the tailpiece, pickup, knobs, and possibly the neck, offering a unique blend of both brands.
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Value and pricing
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Despite listings as high as $4,600, owners report these guitars typically fetch $1,500 to $2,000 if in pristine condition.
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User experience
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A buyer chose the Epiphone Century over more expensive Gibsons, finding its sound superior, illustrating its appeal even against higher-end options.
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It's noted that changing to lower tension strings from stock flatwounds results in flapping on the 5th and 6th strings, indicating setup adjustments are crucial.
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Critic Reviews
4.5 out of 5
Based on 0 Reviews and 6 Ratings
Artist usage
Add artist
In this video, James Bay talks about picking up a guitar when he first heard Layla by Eric Clapton at age 11. He describes some of the characteristics of his 1966 Epiphone Century electric guitar, and why he thinks it’s a great guitar for him:
“I’ve wound up with this red Epiphone Century, it was made in 1966, so it’s an old one. And there’s a lot to be said for old guitars, everybody thinks they’re kind of great for various reasons. And new guitars are great too! But this is a really nice piece of wood. It’s just put together well, and it’s aged well and I can say all this stuff and sound like a guitar geek. But at the end of the day, I saw it and I liked the look of it, and when I started playing it, it felt good. That’s what it comes down to, does it feel good. I like the fact that this is an electric guitar, but it hasn’t got a plain G-string, it’s got a wound G-string kind of like an acoustic guitar - exactly like an acoustic guitar. I just like that it’s difficult, I get a great feeling out of that. And it makes a great sound, it’s kind of like - it’s just the right kind of jangly, just the right kind of thick. Heavy… woody… electric… I love it. It’s just… there’s something about it.”
Total Guitar interview, James Bay talk about both his 2 Epiphone Century guitars:
Epiphone Century 1966 (Cherry Red) with 1 P90 Pickup
Epiphone Century 1965 (Brown) with 2 P90 Pickups and a Bigsby vibrato https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjm4UBHrCTI
In an interview with Andertons Music Co in April 2016, James Bay says he has got the Bigsby Vibrato removed from his brown Epiphone Century 1965 https://youtu.be/3DQJSkYl5rY?t=29m52s
Álvaro debuted this guitar in the first reunion of Los Tres in 2006, which featured him, Titae and Ángel as original members, on drums was Manuel Basualto, brother of Mauricio Basualto (former drummer of Los Bunkers), and without Pancho Molina, the original drummer, he used this guitar as the main and only electric guitar during the period 2006-2007 throughout the reunion tour, the concert at the Arena Santiago which It was recorded on a live album titled "Arena", and the Viña del Mar Festival 2007. It was also used for the recording of the reunion album titled "Hágalo usted mismo". He has not used it live since then, but recently uploaded a reel to Instagram playing with it from his studio. Video link here: https://www.instagram.com/alvaro_henriquez_pettinelli/reel/CrJYc6iL_uR/
Jesse is seen using an Epiphone Century Electric Guitar in his early TikTok videos
In this photo, which shows Jones performing at WFUV Public Radio on October 9, 2003, she can be seen with an Epiphone Century.
This video he is seen playing an epiphone century while playing "Baby I've got you on my mind" with Powderfinger
In reply to a comment on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/DP3ItxgE-tx/?igsh=aGdhbTliMWN3MTB5), Glenn confirmed that he is playing “a Century reissue that's been painted matte black and had a Frequensator added.”
Album Usage
The Epiphone Century Electric Guitar has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
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